Tufting mechanism



Feb. 6, 1934. H. J. SCHOMVER 1,945,536.

TUFTING MECHANISM 5 Sheets-Sheet l Filed Dec. 2, 1951 Feb. 6, 1934. H. J. SCHOMER IUFIING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 2, 1951 s s eets-sh et, '2'

Feb. 6, 1934. H. J. SCHOMER 1,945,536

TUFTING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 2, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 I I 0 I Feb. 6, 1934 H. J. scHoM 1,945,536

TUFTING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 2, 19:51 5 Shedts-Sheet 4 Feb. 6, 1934. H. J. SCHOMER 'IUF'IING MECHANISM Filed Dec. 2, 1931 5. Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented Feb. 6, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TUFTING MECHANISM Application December 2, 1931. Serial No. 578,427

12 Claims.

This invention relates to a tufting mechanism adapted to be incorporated into a sewing machine for the purpose of drawing out the threads in a series of loops and cutting the same to form tufts,

so that the resulting product will exhibit the characteristics of a tufted rug.

The mechanism of the present invention is designed as a modification in the structure of a sewing machine of standard form equipped with means for introducing loops from a needle over the tip of a combined looper and cutter along which the succeeding loops will be crowded by the feeding movements of the fabric and ultimately severed and released in the form of tufts which constitute the exposed pile surface of the completed rug.

In certain types of sewing machines, provision is made for imparting an oscillatory fore and aft movement to the needle concurrently with the feeding of the fabric, so that the needle will travel forward while in the fabric on its downward thrust, and be restored to its rearmost position while released from the fabric in its uppermost position, and the movements of the looper of the present invention may co-ordinate with the movements of an oscillatory needle in such a way as to utilize in part the forward oscillation of the needle when lowered to deliver the loop over the tip of the looper, which at this instant is rearwardly oscillated to supplement the movements of the needle. However, the looper of the present invention is so designed and actuated that it may be given sufiicient amplitude of movement to engage the loops of a straight line reciprocating needle without reliance upon any oscillatory movement in the needle itself to effect the looping. The invention, therefore, is of a nature which is well adapted to combine with sewing machines of varying construction, and to provide a simple and easily applied form of looper well adapted for use under varying conditions.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a front end elevation of a sewing machine of the needle oscillating type, showing the looper of the present invention associated therewith;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of a sewing machine, showing the rear portion of the frame in section to reveal the driving mechanism;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional elevation through the rear standard of the sewing machine frame;

Fig. 4 is a front elevation of a looper in the position assumed when the needle is elevated;

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the parts in the same relationship;

Figs. 6, '7, 8 and 9 are details of the looper and needle in successive positions of adjustment;

Fig. 10 is a plan view taken through the needle, and looking downwardly toward the looper;

Figs. 11 and 12 are side elevations of the looper and needle indifferent positions of adjustment;

and

Fig. 13 is a side elevation of a slightly elongated looper used in association with a straight line reciprocating needlez The present invention'is shown in association with a sewing machine comprising a base or platform 20, provided at its rear end with a hollow standard 21, which carries a forwardly extending arm 22 terminating in a head 23 which encloses the mechanism for reciprocating and oscillating the needle; but "in view of the fact that these parts are of standard sewing machine construction constituting a well known type of Singer sewing machin"e,'it is not deemed necessary to describe the mechanism provided for actuating the needle. Such'mechanism is operated by a shaft 24,-provided near its rear end with a crank 25, and provide'dbeyond the standard with a pulley 26 adapted to'be operated from a suitable 0 source of power.

The needle 27 is carried by a rod 28, and the needle operates througha presser foot 29 secured to the lower'end of a rod 30 suitably actuated to afford the necessaryfeeding movements to the 5 fabric in a manner well understood in the sewing machine art.

Below the". platform 20 are located the parts which'more specially form the subject matter of the present invention. These parts include a bill-shaped looper 31, which tapers inwardly to a blunt tip 32, and the lower edge of the looper is concavely cut'to afford a knife edge 33 extending arcuately from the'tip 32 to the base of the body of the looper.

The bodyof the looper is provided with a slot 34, which receivesa headed screw 35 adapted to secure the looper to an arm 36, which is provided with a flanged? against which the base of the looper abuts in order to hold the same accurately 10 in position.

'I'hearm 36 springs from a head 38 which is pivoted upon a pintle 39,"and the head has forwardly' extending therefrom an elbow shaped actuating arm 40, the upwardly extending section 41 of which co-operates'with a cam disk 42 having an elevation or protuberance 43 which extends through substantially an arc of 180 degrees, the remainder of the cam being concentrically curved upon a shorter radius.

The cam 42 is carried at the end of a. rock. shaft 44, so that the movements imparted to the cam will be of oscillatory character. The cam has secured to its face a disk 45 provided with a cross groove 46, which serves to slidably mount an adjustable plate 47 provided with a slot 48,

through which is entered a headed screw 49 which permits adjustment of the'plate 47. I

The plate 47 carries a guide member 50,'the

forward end 51 of which is spherically curved on I its outer corner, and the guide member is mounted at the end of the slide plate 47 in such a way as to present its outer or guiding surface to the path of movement of the needle, so that it will serve to impart a slight outward movement to the needle during each downward reciprocation, for the purpose of bringing the needle accurately into register with the tip of the looper, in order to present the parts in position to introduce the loop onto the tip of the looper at the proper moment.

Figs. 4 to9 inclusive clearly show the formation of the guide member and its relationship to the tip of the looper andthe needle;-

Fig. 4 shows the guide member with its curved end 51 presented upwardly toward the tip of the needle, and below and slightly to the right of the tip of the looper. I

As the needle descends to the position shown in Fig. 6, the tip of the needlewill engage the curving surface of the tip 51 of the guide member, and this will spring the tip of the needle to bring the rear turn of the. thread or yarn into exact alignment with the tip of the looper, which in this position is held backwardlyby the contact of the arm 41 withthe protuberant portion 43 of the cam, which at this instantis rotating in a counter-clockwise direction, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 6. a

Fig. 7 illustrates the next succeeding instant,

during which the cam has rotated still farther in the same direction, which causes the tip of the looper to recede farther from the needle, and at the same time maintains engagement of the needle with-the outer surface of the guide member.

Fig. 8 illustrates the termination of the oscillatory movement of the cam in the counterclockwise direction; and with the looper still in the position occupied in Fig. 7, the needle, by its forward oscillatory feeding movement with the fabric, will advance toward the tip of the looper. Immediately thereafter, andas the needle is ascending, the cam will rotate in the clockwise direction indicated in Fig. 9, which will cause the cam protuberance 43 to engage the arm 41 and throw the tip of the looper into the turn of the thread before the needle passes the tip of the looper, thereby engaging the thread under the bill-shaped tip of the looper. I

The configuration of thetip of the looper is such that after a loop of thread has been thus engaged, it will be held against displacement on the succeeding backward movement of the looper, so that successive loops will becrowded upon the looper, as indicated in Fig. 1; and as the feeding of the material progresses, the loops will be out by contact with the. arcuate knife edge and by reason of the oscillatory movements imparted to the looper. a

The downward movements of ,the elbowshaped arm 40 are resisted by a flat spring 52,

' which serves to hold the arm 40 into continued close contact with the cam surface, and the movements of the needle and looper are accurately timed to conform to the operations previously described.

Fig. 10 shows the relationship of the needle to the tip end of the guide member, from which it appears that when the tip of the needle is lifted out of contact with the guide member, it will occupy a position almost exactly in line with the tip of the looper,but as contact is effected bythe downward movement of the needle conjointly with the swinging upward movement of the guide member, the needle will be sprung slightly outward to align the tip of the looper with the space afforded between the needle and the thread, the needle being provided with a scarfed portion 53 immediately above the eye, in order to facilitate entrance of the tip of the looper between the needle and the thread.

Fig. 11 is an edge view taken from-the position indicated by the arrow 11 in Fig. 7, while Fig. 12 is an edge view taken from the position indicated by the arrow 12 in Fig. 9. Figs. 11 and 12 clearly indicate how the guide member stands outwardly from the adjustable slide plate 46 in position to align the outer face of the guide member with the needle. The rear end 54 of the guide member, as shown, is flattened, since this portion of the guide member does not directly engage the needle.

The shaft, 44 which carries the cam 42 underlies the platform 20 (see Fig. 2) and extends to the rear end of the machine, at which point the shaft is provided with an arm 55, which is pivoted by a pivot 56 to a slide block 57 operating within a slot 58 in a lever 59, which is pivoted on a pintle 60 and has its opposite end 61 pivoted to a pitman 62 operating on the crank 25.

The relationship of the parts is such that continuous rotary movement of the shaft 24 will be transformed into a rocking movement of the lever 59, which in turn will be imparted through the arm 55 to the shaft 44, so that oscillatory movements will be imparted to the cam 42 in properly timed relation to the reciprocating movements of the needle.

The looper and the parts associated therewith 126 are conveniently mounted on the inside of .a plate 63 provided with slots 64, which receive screw bolts 65 for adjustably securing the looper and its operating parts to a depending bracket plate 66 forming part of the machine frame.

In Fig. 13, the form of the looper and its amplitude of movement are somewhat modified to meet the requirements of a non-oscillatory needle. In this case the tip of the looper is shown as somewhat elongated, and the protuberance 43 on the cam is somewhat more elevated to give a greater range of oscillatory movement to the looper in order to compensate for the lack of oscillatory movement in the needle. In other respects, however, the construction is identical with that heretofore described, so that further detailed description of this modification is deemed unnecessary.

In operation, the fabric F is fed into the machine in the ordinary'manner, and progressively carried forward by the usual feeding means. As the needle penetrates the fabric, and as its tip moves downward, the guide member 50 will oscillate upwardly to meet it, so that contact will be effected and maintained, as in Figs. 6, '7 and 8, 145 while the needle is descending. Immediately thereafter, and before the loop of thread carried by the needle has lifted above the level of the looper tip, the tip will advance and engage the looped thread as the needle recedes, thereby hold- 150 ing the loop firmly but without immediately cutting the same.

It will be noted that the outer terminus of the knife edge lies at an appreciable distance be hind the tip of the looper, so that a relatively blunt edge is presented for initially holding the loop in uncut condition during the recession of the needle, which is necessary in order to prevent an immediate severance of the thread and its disengagement from the eye of the needle before the next succeeding loop or loops have been delivered to the looper. As the loops accumulate and as the fabric advances, the foremost loops in the procession will be crowded onto and along the knife edge, and thus severed and released from the looper and drawn out with the advancing fabric. I I

The invention is one of extremely simple con struction, in that the number of parts is reduced to a minimum, and since no small or delicate parts are involved in the operation, the machine is of rugged construction and will operate with precision and with but little attention throughout long periods of time. i

The looper is mounted in such a way that it can be easily adjusted so as to properly correlate its movements to those of the needle, and the cam 42, being adjustable on the end of the shaft 44, can be accurately set to the exact position required to properly time the operations. Moreover the looper can be easily removed for the purpose of sharpening or replacement, as occasion may require. Likewise, the guide member can be adjusted to harmonize its action with that of the needle, so that the tip of the needle will always present itself accurately to the tip of the looper.

The invention is one which may be readily applied to sewing machines of many different types of construction, and the amplitude of movement of the looper can in all respects be harmonized with the movements of the needle, whether or not the same include an oscillatory fore and aft movement.

Although the invention has been describedwith considerable particularity as to detail, it is'not the intention to limit the invention strictly to the form of construction shown and described, since modifications thereof may be introduced without departingfrom the spirit of the invention.

I claim:

1. In tufting mechanism of the class described,

the combination of a reciprocating needle, a billshaped looper mounted in position to present its tip to the needle in position to engage the thread carried by the needle, the looper being provided with a cutting edge along its under side and behind the tip thereof, and an oscillating cam for actuating the looper to project its tip through the loop of thread carried by the needle and engage such loop in position to effect cutting thereof when advanced to the cutting edge.

2. In tufting mechanism of the class described, the combination of a reciprocating needle, a billshaped looper adjustably mounted to present its tip in coacting relation to the needle and in position to engage a loop of thread carried thereby, a mounting for the looper adapted to impart oscillatory movement thereto, a cutting edge carried by the looper and terminating at a point behind the tip thereof to prevent premature cutting of the loops introduced onto the tip, and an oscillating cam operable within the space beneath the tip of the looper and below the cutting edge and adapted to impart oscillating movements to the looper mounting in timed relation to the movements of the needle. I

3. In tufting mechanism of the class described,

to impart oscillating movements to the lower mounting in timed relation to the movements of the needle.

4; In tufting mechanism of the class described,

the combination of a reciprocating needle, a billshaped looper adjustably mounted to present its tip in'coacting relation to the needle and in position to engage a loop of thread carried thereby, a mounting for the looper adapted to impart oscillatory movement thereto, a cutting edge carried by the looper and terminating at a point behind the tip thereof to prevent premature cutting of the loops introduced onto the tip, and an oscillating cam operable within the space beneath the tip of the looper and below the cutting edge and adapted to impart oscillating movements to the looper mounting in timed relation to the movements of the'needle, and a needle guide member mounted upon the cam and adapted, uponeach oscillation, to engage the tip of the needle to maintain the same in accurate coactingrelation with the tip of the looper, during the delivery of the thread from the needle to the looper.

5. In tufting mechanism of the class described, the combination of a reciprocating needle, a bill-shaped looper adjustably mounted to present its tip in coacting relation to the needle and in position to engage a loop of thread carried thereby, a mounting for the looper adapted to impart oscillatory movement thereto, a downwardly arcuately curved cutting edge carried by the looper and terminating at a point behind the tipthereof to prevent premature cutting of the loops introduced onto the tip, and an oscillating cam operain accurate coacting relation with the'tip of the looper, during the delivery of the thread from the needle to the looper.

6. In tufting mechanism of the class described, the combination of a reciprocating needle, a billshaped looper adjustably mounted to present its tip in coacting relation to the needle and in position to engage a loop of thread carried thereby, a mounting for the looper adapted to impart oscillatory movement thereto. a cutting edge carried by the looper and terminating at a point behind the tip thereof to prevent premature cutting of the loops introduced onto the tip, and an oscillatory cam operable within the space beneath the tip of the looper and below the cutting edge and adapted to impart oscillating movements to the looper mounting in timed relation to the movements of the needle, and a needle guide member mounted upon the cam and adapted, upon each face of the cam to permit adjustment thereof,

with respect to the tip of the needle.

'7. In tufting mechanism of the class described, the combination of a reciprocating needle, a billshaped looper adjustably mounted to present its tip in coacting relation to the needle andin position to engage a loop .of thread carried thereby, a mounting for the looper adapted to impart oscillatory movement thereto, a downwardly arcuately curved cutting edge carried by the looper and terminating at a point behind the tip thereof to prevent premature cutting of the loops introduced onto the tip, and an oscillating cam operable within the space beneath the tip of the looper and below the cutting edge and adapted to impart oscillatory movements to the looper mounting in timed-relation to the movements ,of the needle, and a needle guide member mounted upon the cam and adapted, upon each oscillation, to engage the tip of the needle to maintain the same in accurate coacting relation with the tip of the looper, during the delivery of the thread from the needle to the looper, said needle guide member being movable across the face of the cam to permit adjustment thereof with respect to the tip of theneedle.

8. In tufting mechanism of the class described, the combination of a reciprocating needle, a billshaped looper having a tip in the form of a blunt point and provided with a cutting edge along its under side, a pivotally mounted arm to which the looper is secured, an elbow-shaped arm connected with said first named arm and adapted to impart oscillations thereto, and a cam mounted on a rock shaft and located in the space between the arms, in position to engage and oscillate the elbow-shaped arm in timed relation to the movements of the needle.

9. In tufting mechanism of the class described, the combination of a reciprocating needle, a billshaped looper having a. tip in the form of a blunt point and provided with a cutting edge along its under side, a pivotally mounted arm to which the looper is secured, an elbow-shaped arm connected with said first named arm'and adapted to impart oscillations thereto, a cam mounted on a rock shaft and located in the space between the arms, in position to engage and oscillate the elbow-shaped arm in timed relation to the movements of the needle, and a needle guide member carried by the cam and adapted to engage the needle on the down thrust thereof and hold the same in accurate relation to the tip of the looper during the delivery of the thread from the needle to the looper.

10. In tufting mechanism of the class described the combination of a'reciprocating needle and an oscillatory looper, the looper being provided with a. cutting under edge terminating short of the tip thereof to afford a terminal under edge adapted to retain loops of thread without prematurely cutting the same, and means for reciprocating the needle and oscillating the looper in timed relation to one another, and an oscillatory needle guide adapted to be recurrently brought into contact with the tip of the needle to hold the same in coacting relation with the tip 01 the looper during the delivery of thread thereto.

11. In tufting mechanism of the class described, the combination of a reciprocating needle and an oscillatory bill-shaped looper presenting its free tip away from the direction of travel of the fabric, means for advancing the fabric in timed relation to the operation of the needle, the looper being provided with a tip having a blunted under edge, and the looper being further provided with a cutting edge terminating short of the tip to afford means for retaining loops of thread on the looper without prematurely cutting the same until advancement to the cutting edge, and means for oscillating the looper in timed relation to the reciprocation of the needle and the movements of the feeding means.

12. In tuftlng mechanism of theclass described, the combination of a. reciprocating needle, means coacting therewith for advancing the fabric in timed relation to the movements of the needle, a bill-shaped looper mounted for movement toward and from the tip of the needle, and means for actuating the same in timed relation to the needle and feeding means, the looper being provided with a tip projecting away from the direction of movement of the fabric and the tip having a blunted under edge, and the looper beyond the tip being provided with a cutting edge terminating short of the tip to make provision for the retention of loops of thread at the tip without prematurely cuttingthe same, and the parts being correlated to advance a procession of loops from the tip to the cutting edge for successively cutting the loops to release them from the looper 

